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Bryce Hoppel Has 20/20 Vision With Another Exceptional 800-Meter Effort at Sunset Tour

Published by
DyeStat.com   Jul 10th 2019, 11:11am
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Hoppel remains unbeaten this year, prevailng against Engels and Kerr at Azusa Pacific; Ali, Blankenship, Coates, Grace, Hiltz, Lomong, Schweizer and Yee also victorious at inaugural event

By Landon Negri for DyeStat

AZUSA, Calif. Bryce Hoppel says he’s just having fun. With 20 consecutive victories, who wouldn’t be?

The University of Kansas junior added to a stellar season Tuesday night at the inaugural Sunset Tour meet, rallying to win the 800 meters in 1 minute, 44.48 seconds and extending an amazing run that has included NCAA Division 1 indoor and outdoor championships in the event and an undefeated season overall.

That was part of a storyline of fast times Tuesday at Azusa Pacific University’s Cougar Stadium, when fantastic conditions – unusually moderate for a Southern California July night – led to six stadium records in a venue already known for blazing times.

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Win No. 20 for Hoppel was more impressive considering the competitive field and the fact that he hadn’t raced since June 7, when he ran a personal-best 1:44.41 to capture the NCAA Division 1 outdoor title in Austin, Texas.

Runner-up Craig Engels of the Nike Oregon Project, who ran 1:44.68, is an accomplished middle distance runner, and Josh Kerr, who placed third, set a collegiate 1,500-meter record on the same track more than a year ago at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Nike Bowerman Track Club’s Matthew Centrowitz, who placed seventh in 1:46.32, was the 1,500 gold medalist in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

“It’s definitely been building up,” Hoppel said of the streak. “Since I ended my collegiate season, the pressure has gone down a little bit. Now it’s just all about the fun.”

Hoppel kicked well to win, surging to victory in the final 200 meters ahead of Engels and Kerr, who ran a personal-best 1:45.35 to edge out Brooks Beasts teammate Brannon Kidder (1:45.39).

“I just try to keep my races smart and just run them tactically,” Hoppel said. “I kind of keep all the guys in sight and kick at the end and go for the finish line.”

Kerr electrified a capacity crowd at Azusa Pacific in 2018, when he broke a 37-year collegiate mark in the 1,500 in running 3:35.01 that evening. Tuesday was more low-key, but Kerr couldn’t wait to run, given his good fortunes at the Cougar Stadium track.

“Oh, massively,” he said. “When I knew it was here, we had already chosen that we were going to come here. I was just super-hyped.”

A victory in a similarly strong field in the fast heat of the women’s 1,500 continued another streak.

Nikki Hiltz of adidas and Mission Track Club won her seventh race in her last eight outings by outkicking in the final lap to win in 4:05.97 over runner-up Colleen Quigley of Bowerman Track Club (4:07.19) and New Balance’s Cory McGee (4:08.79).

“Winning, I feel like, is contagious,” Hiltz said. “It’s just, like, addicting. The first win I had was kind of shocking, and then the next one, I was like, ‘I want that again.’ Then the next one, I was like, ‘Well, I should just keep doing this.’ It still is a hard thing to do. It doesn’t come easy by any means, but it makes the work worth it, for sure.”

Bowerman’s Karissa Schweizer knows that feeling. She rebounded from a 14th-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic 10 days ago to win the women’s 5,000 in a personal-best time of 15:01.63, lowering her previous mark of 15:02.44 from August in Belgium.

Bowerman had, at one point, the first five places in the race. And it didn’t hurt Schweizer that she had teammates Courtney Frerichs and Shelby Houlihan pacing for a good portion of the event, as well as teammate Marielle Hall pushing her before finishing in 15:02.27. Vanessa Fraser took third in 15:07.58 for Bowerman to complete the sweep.

“It kind of felt like we were executing a normal practice day,” Schweizer said.

She’ll now head to the USATF Outdoor Championships, which are July 25-28 in her hometown of Des Moines, Iowa.

“I’m very excited just to be back at Drake Stadium and running, it just feels like my dream,” she said. “I was watching these professionals, I actually helped out at U.S. Champs when I was younger, so it’s kind of just like a full-circle moment.”

The night’s other personal best from a winner came from former University of Minnesota standout and 2018 NCAA Division 1 champion Obsa Ali in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase. Ali won in 8:28.49, ahead of Indiana University’s Daniel Michalski (8:30.69), and beat the IAAF world standard, a moment he called a “huge relief.”

“I saw in the last 100 meters, I had to give it all, so I went for it,” Ali said. “I’m just so happy to get it, man. It wasn’t easy, but that’s all that matters.”

In the women’s 800, two of the top three finishers ran personal bests, with a pair of Bowerman runners both breaking the 2-minute barrier.

Bowerman’s Kate Grace, an Olympic finalist in 2016, torched the last 100 meters to win in 1:59.58. In a field of several noted more for the 1,500, Grace said she felt some sense of defending her turf.

“A little bit,” she said. “More so, I just feel comfortable. I feel like I want to hunt in these races, and I love that feeling.”

Houlihan placed second in 1:59.92 in her first 800 since 2016. Ecstatic about breaking two minutes, Houlihan couldn’t help but answer when Grace was asked if she felt as strong as she looked Tuesday.

“She looked strong going right by me,” Houlihan quipped.

In reality, Houlihan felt like she was a winner. A stress fracture in her right foot, she said, kept her out for the first part of the season, and she said she only returned to training in late April before opening her outdoor season June 30 at the Pre Classic in the 1,500.

“I always try to kind of look at it in a positive light,” she said, “and hopefully, it’s going to be a long year, if everything goes well. I think if I were to have gotten an injury, this was the best time to have gotten it.”

Oklahoma State’s Sinclaire Johnson finished third but also secured the world standard in a personal-best time of 2:00.43 in her first race since winning the NCAA Division 1 outdoor title June 8 in the 1,500, where she also achieved the world standard by running 4:05.98.

Canadian Regan Yee, who runs for the Langley Mustangs, got her world standard in the women’s 3,000 steeplechase after missing by 0.06 seconds three weeks ago at the Harry Jerome Track Classic near Vancouver, B.C.

With her time Tuesday of 9:35.49, Yee also set a stadium record at Azusa, as well as recording the No. 2 time for a Canadian this year.

“I ran 9:40.06 a couple of weeks ago, which was so close to the world standard, so I knew it was there,” Yee said.

Two other winners Tuesday in the marquee events were Nike OTC Elite’s Ben Blankenship, who topped the fast 1,500 section in 3:36.22. In the men’s 5,000, Nike Bowerman’s Lopez Lomong went back and forth in the lead with Nike OTC Elite’s Hassan Mead, before winning in 13:25.13.

Former Stanford standout Grant Fisher, making his pro debut racing for Bowerman, placed fourth in 13:29.03.

In the mixed 10,000-meter race to conclude the evening, Riley Coates of Colorado Springs Track Club won in 30:14.09, with Sarah Pease of Oiselle producing the fastest women’s time in 33:18.96.



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